Hindsight is 2020
by quall339
Summary: Several important players in the final wizarding war are shown what could have been in a chance to change the future. But why change a happy ending? A visitor from the future explains that not all happy endings are real. rating for safety First ever fanfic...just something that has been knocking around in my brain for a while.
1. Prologue

I OWN NOTHING. Just playing with JK Rowling's world!

This story begins in the hospital wing immediately after the confrontation with Fudge in the Goblet of Fire.

Prologue

The atmosphere in the hospital wing was thick with tension as the occupants of the room looked towards the door where Minister Fudge hurried out. The harsh reality of the night's events began to settle in everyone's minds. Voldemort is back…and they were on their own. No ministry support, no Aurors, no warning to the public of the dangers they are now facing.

Dumbledore was the first to come to his senses, and turned to address Severus Snape. Before he could speak a word, he was engulfed in a bright blue light and disappeared. The shock of Albus Dumbledore disappearing so abruptly did not even register as more bright lights enveloped every occupant in the room, leaving it empty.

In the corner, a small beetle chirped in confusion. Madam Pompfrey, who had been preparing a potion for her patient, realized just how quiet the hospital wing suddenly became and placed the vial she was holding down to go investigate.

Right before Madam Pompfrey opened her office door to investigate the sudden lack of noise, another bright blue light filled the hospital wing and all the previous occupants of the room reappeared. As Madam Pompfrey strode quickly into the wing, she observed a different scene from minutes before. Gone were the fear, uncertainty, and pain. Instead there was a grim determination and look of hope on each person. As Poppy looked on, she heard Albus Dumbledore say "Let's get started."


	2. Chapter 1

I own nothing!

Chapter One

Harry watched in shock as Professor Dumbledore disappeared in the blue light. He was still processing what he had just witnessed when he saw nothing but blue light and felt himself be pulled away from the hospital bed he had been resting in. When his eyes readjusted to the room, he discovered he was not the only one completely confused. He saw a few teachers, the whole Weasley family, Hermione, Sirius (still in Padfoot form), Remus, Draco Malfoy (which confused him to no end) and several people he did not recognize.

The room they were standing in looked like a giant common room. Couches and comfortable looking chairs filled the room, and along the side of the room was a long table similar to those in the great hall at Hogwarts. There were 3 doors along the far wall and no windows were visible.

For nearly a minute the occupants of the room sat in total silence, observing the others present as if looking for the one responsible for bringing them all here. No one presented as guilty, so everyone began speaking at once.

"Bloody hell!"

"Language, Ronald!"

"Dumbledore, what is going on? Where are we?"

"Wait until my father hears that I was kidnapped by these blood traitors!"

"Who brought us here? What kind of dark magic is this?"

"QUIET!"

The last words were shouted by Dumbledore as each person in the room shifted their attention to him. Once the room was reasonably quiet, he began speaking again.

"I am afraid that I do not know the circumstances that brought each of us to this place, but it will not help matters to shout or panic. I understand that you are feeling out of sorts with this sudden change in environment, as am I, but discovering the nature of our predicament will require a calm mind."

Some calmed at his words, but Severus Snape replied in outrage, "Potter had something to do with this. What did you do, Potter?"

All attention fell on the boy who lived, who was feeling confused and exposed as all attention in the room turned on him. He became acutely aware of the fact that he was in hospital night clothes while everyone else in the room was clothed, and thanks to the dreamless sleep potion still working its way through his system, his mind was too fuzzy to think clearly. The adrenaline from the evening had completely worn off, and he felt tired and sore, wanting nothing more than to rest. He was more focused on remaining upright instead of looking like a weakling as the others in the room stared at him.

"Severus," Dumbledore began, "I am confident that Harry over there had nothing to do with this as he was unconscious until a few moments before we were brought here."

A few in the room, namely Molly Weasley and Padfoot, seemed to remember at that moment that Harry should have been lying in bed, not standing in a strange room with no explanation. Molly guided him to an oversized chair and insisted that he sit, and Padfoot sat at his feet, both to provide comfort and protection. Padfoot was glaring at Snape with a low growl rumbling from his throat while Dumbledore continued to speak.

"Let us take in what we do know," Dumbledore continued. "I take it you were, like me, engulfed in a blue light which transported you to this room?"

All the occupants of the room nodded, a few confused to see a grim-like dog nod like he understood the headmaster.

"Good, now I also assume there is no way out of this room at the present time."

A bald man with a gold earring dangling from his ear approached from the corner he was standing in. "Dumbledore, I have checked out the room and there is one door that heads into a hallway with what appears to be bedrooms. I sent Auror Tonks down that hall to check for exits. Another door there," pointing to a second door "leads to a kitchen area, and a third door that leads to a loo. The room looks like it is set up to hold guests, indefinitely."

"Thank you, Kingsley," replied Dumbledore, "I am glad to have a few Aurors with us as we do not yet know what we are facing."

Harry's ears perked up at the word Auror. Partly in excitement as he was considering that as a potential career someday. But mostly out of fear. The giant dog at his feet WAS the most wanted criminal in the wizarding world currently and he was not going to lose his godfather any time soon.

Dumbledore seemed to read Harry's mind, because he continued, "while Auror Tonks is securing the location, I think it would be better to have as many qualified wizards available if necessary. Sirius, would you please join us. I promise you have nothing to fear from the people in this room."

Harry's heart leapt to his throat. NOOOO he wanted to shout. He didn't know quite a few people in the room or how they would react to being in the room with Sirius Black. Dumbledore looked completely calm however and Padfoot only hesitated for a moment before transforming into the thin and pale Sirius Black.

For the second time the room broke out into shouts, this time ones of shock and outrage that a murderer was so close to Harry and should be restrained. Molly Weasley and Kingsley pulled their wands prepared to defend Harry from this man, who had taken the seat next to Harry, placing his arm around him in a show of comfort and support while the outrage continued.

"QUIET!" Dumbledore shouted for the second time in a few minutes. "Sirius Black has my confidence. I am certain that the details surrounding the actions that he was accused will be discussed and the truth will come to light. Until then he is under my protection."

Kingsley and Molly withdrew their wands, reluctantly, and slowly the occupants of the room calmed. Severus Snape held a look of absolute hatred and revulsion as he glared at Sirius Black, who glared back with equal hostility. Finally Remus stepped between the two, breaking their eye contact.

"Gentlemen, we can continue this staring contest of hatred later. We have more important things to deal with."

Snape tutted at being put in place by the werewolf, and Sirius looked down and gave Harry an encouraging smile, pulling him into a comfortable hug.

A woman with pink spiky hair emerged from the first door and walked directly to Kingsley and Dumbledore. "The doors down the hallway lead to bedrooms and a few loos. No signs of exits or windows."

Dumbledore thanked her and opened his mouth to speak again, when a gust of wind filled the room. Harry turned around and looked over his chair to see a vortex on the empty side of the room. If he hadn't been terrified he would have thought it was beautiful as it spun in multiple colors. A moment later 2 forms emerged from the vortex, both looking like they just went through a warzone.

The first man looked about Bill Weasley's age, with, strangely enough turquoise hair. He looked a little nervous to be standing in the room but did not back down under the dozen wands pointed directly at him.

The second man looked like he was struggling a bit as he exited the vortex. Once he emerged, the vortex reduced in size, looking like a snitch hanging in the air. Harry heard a few sharp intakes of breath around him, and after getting a proper look at the second man he understood why.

The second man looked to be in his 40's and had dark hair that stood up everywhere with a few flecks of gray on the sides. He stood shorter than the first man but his posture and presence made it clear he was in charge. Most notably were the green eyes, hidden by glasses and the familiar lightning bolt on his forehead.

"Harry?"


	3. Chapter 2

A few notes…

This is NOT a "Harry and crew read the books" type fic. This will touch on the events in the books, and they will watch memories of scenes from the books, most of which will not be detailed. If you are reading this fic than you more than likely are familiar with canon, so I will not relive it word for word. I am focusing more on the reactions and the changes in the canon characters when learning of their fates and what could have been if everyone had the facts from the beginning.

Also, this is canon friendly, as Harry and Teddy go back in time about 4 years after the epilogue in Deathly Hallows.

As always, I own nothing.

Chapter 3

The occupants of the room stared in shock at the 2 newest arrivals.

"Harry?" came out of Arthur Weasley's mouth as a whisper.

The new, older Harry barely acknowledged the people in the room, although the pain in his eyes as he glanced through the room was not missed by most of the adults. He turned his eyes to the younger man, saying in a choked, pained voice, "This is your mission. Proceed."

The man with the turquoise hair nodded his head and walked over to a table on the far side of the room. He began pulling items out of a tote he had carried with him from the vortex. No one could really see what he was doing, except for the banging and clanging of items as he set them on the table.

Most eyes never removed themselves from the older Harry's profile, as he stood with his eyes closed, as if blocking out some invisible pain. Finally, Dumbledore spoke.

"Mr. Potter, I assume we have you to thank for our current situation?"

The older Harry opened his eyes and regarded his former headmaster for nearly a minute before responding in the same pained voice, "Me? Oh no, I couldn't pull something like this off, well, not on my own anyway. But the reason you are here, I guess you could say it is BECAUSE of me. Everyone in this room has the ability to make a huge difference in the future of our world, but some of you were never given that chance. The rest of us were too late. We are here to change that."

"So you are from the future, I presume?" asked Sirius from his place at 15 year old Harry's side.

Severus Snape tutted in the corner, "Of course he is from the future, you mangy mutt."

"Severus," Dumbledore admonished calmly, "now is not the time."

The older Harry watched the interaction in longing amusement. "Yes, Sirius, I am from what would be your future. I realize how dangerous and foolish it is to try to change things, but we had no other choice in this matter. It is for the greater good," he said, looking Albus in the eyes as he finished. Albus paled slightly but made no other recognition as to his understanding what Harry was saying.

"So, why did you come back? Did Voldemort win?" Sirius continued, ignoring the many flinches in the room at the word Voldemort, "What could have possibly happened that would make you decide to risk erasing your own past?"

**(A/N: I thought it ironic that Sirius point this out after he was saved by time travel a year prior)**

Older Harry sighed and looked like he was contemplating an answer when the other man came up and addressed Harry. The conversation was hushed, but due to the shock of seeing the time travelers the room was absolutely silent and the words echoed off the walls loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Everything is ready to go. Where shall we begin?"

Harry gave a little chuckle as he replied, "Like I said, Teddy, this is your show. My job was to make sure you made it safely."

"You can't expect me to do this on my own!" Teddy's indignation at Harry's words was palpable. His hair slowly morphed to bright red as he continued, "This mission was supposed to be a 2 person mission. I can't do it on my own. Not this…" His words faded as pain filled his eyes.

Harry placed a shaking hand on his shoulder to provide comfort, "Yes, this WAS a 2 man mission, but not anymore. I have to return and you know why." At this, tears pooled in Teddy's eyes as he unsuccessfully tried to fight them back, "You were chosen for this mission long ago, practically since you were born. Give yourself this chance. We both have the same dream, and now you get to live yours for a short time. You can do this."

Slowly, Teddy began nodding his head and his hair returned to the turquoise color, although his eyes still showed the grief and pain that only someone who has lost a loved one could understand.

Harry stood up straighter, flinching slightly. Teddy eyed him with concern, but Harry shook his head and continued, "Go finish the spell. I will wait until you return and explain what I can."

Teddy nodded his head with a quiet "yes sir" and walked out of the door towards the bedroom hallway. Older Harry watched the door Teddy walked through for a few moments before addressing the others in the room.

"Right then, I only have a few moments, after which Teddy will take over. He is more than qualified to answer any questions that you have as he has been in training for this mission for years. I would suggest you listen very carefully, as he may not have a lot of time to repeat himself. You have the power to change the future, or keep it as it was, keeping in mind that any change will cause a chain reaction making your knowledge of the future invalid." Older Harry's voice changed to a more commanding tone. "That is part of the reason there are so many of you present for this. Our team initially wanted to restrict this information, however as my head of the DMLE rightly pointed out, each of you and your views, for better or worse, are needed to make this mission a success. This is not just about Voldemort; this is about something much worse."

"Worse than You-Know-Who?" Professor McGonagall interrupted, "what could possibly be worse than a dark lord hell-bent on our world's destruction?"

"The extermination of the magical world, and every life in it," older Harry replied.

Several in the room gulped at the implication of Harry's words. Yes, that was much worse than one dark wizard.

"Why can't you stay, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked kindly, "Surely if there is nothing left of your world, as you say, there would be no need to return." While this may not be his Harry, he could see the man was in pain and did not want to see him suffer anymore.

Harry smiled a sad smile at Dumbledore. He had years to come to terms with his relationship with the headmaster, and now he understood the man was human and therefore fallible. There were many things that he knew the younger Harry in the room was going to be angry at him about in the coming days, but over time he knew that he would forgive him again. He addressed his former headmaster as he would a respected colleague, "You are right of course. But seeing as I have only minutes left to live, I would rather my godson not bear witness to my death. He has seen enough suffering, and I hope once you get to know him that you will help make his last days as comfortable as possible."

Expressions of shock filled the room. Sirius gripped harder on to HIS Harry, while Mrs. Weasley, ever the mother, stepped forward towards Harry, "What do you mean you only have a few minutes to live? If you know you are going to die when you go back, then don't! Spend the time with us!"

"Because," Harry replied slowly, as if every word caused him pain, "no one in our time is immune to the blight that is causing our extermination. Based on what I have observed in others, I know how far along I am. I haven't got much time left..." he suddenly breathed in and bent slightly showing the amount of pain he was trying to hide. The glamour in place was slowly fading, showing a skeletal and deathly pale Harry Potter. Harry glanced fearfully towards the door Teddy went into then at Dumbledore. Dumbledore seemed to know exactly what Harry was asking as he pulled out his wand and whispered an incantation, putting the glamour back into place. Harry stood hunched over for a few moments looking like he was trying to get control of whatever was causing him pain, Mrs. Weasley having come over and was holding his arm in support. Dumbledore watched him struggle with his pain and wanted nothing more than to help the man. He quietly whispered another incantation to numb his pain temporarily. After a few moments, Harry was able to stand again.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, and sir," acknowledging Dumbledore. "I do have one more favor to ask of you."

"Anything Harry," Dumbledore replied quietly, his voice full of emotion.

Harry was speaking loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, but his eyes were speaking to Dumbledore, "Like I said, no one in our world is immune to this curse. The time will come when it will make itself known in Teddy as well. Once he dies you will be returned to the time and place you left. When the time comes and he starts to become," Harry struggled with the next words, "...symptomatic, do not make him suffer. Please. Stunning will not work and will only immobilize him. There is only one way to end his pain when the time comes. I can assure you it is more humane and less painful than making him suffer."

The words hung in the air like a thick fog. Harry was asking Dumbledore to kill his godson. Dumbledore stared at Harry, and unspoken conversation taking place- Harry's pleading, Dumbledore's horror at being asked such a request.

The hallway door burst open and Teddy sauntered through, blissfully unaware of the silent conversation taking place between his godfather and former headmaster or the leftover invisible fog left behind from Harry's request.

"Your word, headmaster." Harry pushed out. Teddy froze and watched the exchange in confusion.

All eyes were on Dumbledore as he considered Harry's request. Finally, with a sigh that showed his age, Dumbledore relented. "You have my word, Harry."

Harry sighed as well, sounding resigned but relieved. "Thank you," trying to convey in those two words everything he felt.

Teddy walked up to Harry and raised his eyebrows in the universal expression to ask what happened, and Harry waved off his concern. Harry grabbed on to Teddy's shoulder and escorted him to the table, away from everyone else. A private conversation looked to be taking place, hidden by a silencing charm. Teddy was tense and for a few moments looked like a young child. Harry was clearly the parent in the situation, and the longer he spoke the calmer and more confident Teddy looked. Harry then placed his wand to his head, and the observers witnessed a memory be placed in a flask, which he sealed and handed to Teddy. Teddy stored it in his robes and the two walked over to the rest of the room.

Harry looked around the room at the occupants. His eyes lingered on a few people while he let himself become lost in his memories. His thoughts were cut short by another spasm of pain that had him almost doubled over. Teddy was by his side at once, trying to get him to sit down.

"No, Teddy, it is time for me to go." He pulled Teddy towards him and gave him a hug, which Teddy accepted without shame or embarrassment considering he is standing in a room full of people.

"Let me see you," Harry said as he pulled away. Teddy's hair and eyes quickly changed to a light brown with amber highlights. "There's my boy," Harry said with a fond smile, patting him on the cheek.

Without another word, Harry walked to the snitch-like vortex and pointed his wand to it saying "Engorgio!" The vortex grew once more big enough for a grown man to walk through. Voices, panicked voices, could be heard through the voices. Harry looked at Teddy once more in goodbye then turned to leave, when Teddy spoke up,

"Save a seat on the train for me, Harry."

Harry turned back to Teddy with a smile. "We won't leave without you, son." Harry then turned back and walked through the vortex.

The vortex flickered for a few moments then disappeared, leaving Teddy with a room full of confused people, the only hope to save their future.


	4. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews. I hadn't expected any as I am new to the writing side of things. It really gave me encouragement to get this chapter out faster. I hope it was worth it.

Once again, I own nothing.

Chapter 3

Teddy looked across the room at the other occupants. Confusion, annoyance, sadness, and curiosity were the overall expressions he could see. Teddy considered himself pretty observant. He could always tell what a person was thinking just by his body language. The interaction between Uncle Harry and the Headmaster when he walked in the room had him a bit shaken because he had a feeling he knew what it was about, but if he was going to be successful in this mission he could not dwell on such thoughts.

"Right then," Teddy began, "As I hope the Min.., I mean Harry told you, we are from the future, a future that is unfortunately facing extinction."

"Are you talking about all life on earth kind of extinction?" asked Remus Lupin.

Teddy closed his eyes at the sound of his father's voice. He knew one of the "perks" of this mission was the ability to meet his mother and father, but he wasn't prepared for the pressure in his chest from emotion just at the sound of his voice.

Praying for his emotions to stay safely put away for now and wishing he would have chugged a calming draught before starting, Teddy replied, "Not all life, just magical. Magical beings, human and creature alike, magical buildings and sites are all destroyed. The muggle world has no idea as most of our world is invisible to them anyway. While we made some steps to make sure our legacy at least continued, all magic on Earth is being wiped out. As a matter of fact, the ministry of Magic, one of the last places in the world not gone yet, was collapsing as we came through to this room. I don't know if Harry even made it back or what he came back to…probably just walked through in time for the ministry to collapse around him."

At this he had to take a few breaths and collect himself. _Get a grip, Ted_, he admonished himself. _Geez, I am made of tougher stuff than this_. Then again, it wasn't every day one saw the death of everyone you ever loved; only to see many of them again decades before, while at the same time knowing your time with them is limited to this room with no future, not for him anyway.

"How did this happen?" Remus asked in a small voice. His face was pale and it looked for a moment as if he would pass out. "Was this something Voldemort did or was it something else?"

Once again feeling the urge to chug a calming draught, or a shot of firewhisky, Teddy explained, "We managed to determine that Voldemort had something to do with it. When and where it started, we cannot be sure. We know it was sometime between June 1996 and May 1998. We were never able to pinpoint anything more exact. The goal is to finish him off BEFORE June 1996 so he never has the chance to find the information out."

Teddy went on to explain the curse, how it attached itself over time to every magical being and structure. It took years to fully saturate the wizarding world, and the entire time no one had any idea of its existence. By the time it was discovered 2 years ago the proverbial bomb was in place. Sure, unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries were working on stopping it along with agencies all over the world, but there needed to be a back-up plan. This is it. To go back in time and stop Voldemort before he can destroy all magic.

"You should be grateful it was Harry who insisted on the Ministry taking this duty. The American magical government wanted to take a team back and their plan was just to obliterate all of wizarding Britain in May 1996. It would have destroyed Voldemort, sure, but it would have been genocide of epic proportions."

Snape, who Teddy noted had become more and more agitated the more he explained, could no longer remain silent, "This is preposterous! The Dark Lord wanted to rule over magic, not completely destroy it. Why would he set this curse into place when it would kill him and all his followers? "

Teddy noted the looks of distrust sent to Snape from Harry and Sirius, and inwardly smirked at how they will react to what happened and how Snape's true allegiances were discovered in his time. "We found where the curse ended up, though not where it originated," Teddy answered, "And Voldemort was trying to manipulate the curse to only kill muggleborns. How he thought he would accomplish that I have no idea, but he was delusional. We don't know what changed, but at some point in that 2 year window he set off the curse. It would take about 25 years to fully saturate, and then it would start to react and destroy all magic. Maybe he knew he wasn't going to survive. Maybe he thought he would have 25 years or so to further manipulate the curse to his pureblood ideals. We will never know."

Snape listened to Teddy in quiet shock, though he gave away nothing in his outer reaction. This sounded like a potion more than a curse. His stomach tightened at the thought that his other self may have assisted the Dark Lord in this project and wondered if he had a hand in the destruction of his world.

"What exactly does this curse do?" Snape inquired, already thinking of antidotes and counter jinxes.

"I-i-it…" Teddy began. His eyes became unfocused as he was drawn to the previous hours, his last in his world. He watched St. Mungos, where his pregnant wife was working, collapse as the magic melted from the foundation. He saw his grandfather and uncle collapse in excruciating pain, looking like victims of hemorrhagic fever as they screamed…

"Teddy?" Teddy came to his senses and realized he was standing nose to nose with father. Remus was looking at him with concern.

"My mission is clear. Give you the information you need to defeat Voldemort, sooner rather than later," Teddy's voice was shaky but he became more confident as he directed the conversation away from the trauma he witnessed. "If there is time I can give you more information on my world. Since the changes you will make will change your futures, this curse should never touch your skin and the affects won't be relevant."

Snape seemed satisfied with his response, yet still leery of this curse. Teddy looked around the room and saw the discomfort of everyone and felt his face (and most likely his hair) redden in embarrassment. _Just how long did I space out?_

Remus, who was still standing next to Teddy suggesting that we take a break as it was late when we arrived and everyone was undoubtedly exhausted from the events of the day. Teddy remembered that the travelers were pulled immediately after the Tri-Wizard Tournament, so it would be pretty late at night. Everyone agreed, some such as Moody and Snape reluctantly as they wanted to get down to finding out what will happen. Sirius helped Harry up and they walked down the hallway to the rooms to get him to rest. Molly shuffled the rest of the school aged visitors to rooms and with Tonk's help figured out the sleeping arrangements for the night.

Remus remained by Teddy's side. Once they were alone, Remus helped him to a seat.

"I can't imagine what you just went through, Teddy, but I know it must have been terrible."

"You have no idea," Teddy whispered, knowing his own control had reached its limit. He, like the younger Harry, had been through hell today and really needed a little time to process it and rest. Sleep, no. He doubted he would ever be able to sleep a full night again after what he saw.

"Your parents must be very proud of you, taking on this mission," Remus continued. "I am sorry, but I never caught your surname."

Teddy looked his father in the eye. He knew what he wanted to say, and he knew why he shouldn't say it yet, but as he looked at the man, he couldn't stop himself.

"It's Lupin. My name is Teddy Lupin."


	5. Chapter 4

I own nothing.

Chapter 4

Remus sat and pondered Teddy, _my son,_ in silence. The truth was he could tell this young man was related to him almost immediately. Thanks to Lycanthropy, his sense of smell was remarkable, and he could smell something familiar off of him. To have it confirmed, while gratifying did not stop the feelings of panic bubble up in his stomach as he considered the consequences of his future self's actions.

"Are you a.., I mean do you have…" Remus began, unable to complete the sentence in a way that didn't make him cringe in embarrassment or shame.

"Am I a werewolf like my dad?" Teddy clarified for him, "No. I have a few heightened senses and people tell me I get a bit moody around the full moon, but I don't get all furry or anything."

Remus sat back and sighed in happy relief. He never dreamed of having children because he didn't want to condemn any child to his outcast life. Sure, he _wanted_ children, but like many things, he knew what he wanted was not always realistic. To hear he not only had a child in the future but that child did not carry his curse…that was just, well, brilliant!

"I knew almost instantly we were related," Remus stated, still slightly high with happiness over the knowledge he could someday be a father, "but I didn't know how. As far as I knew I am the only one left in my family."

Remus paused and observed his son for a moment. He was pale and it was clear he was overwhelmed by the day's events. A sudden parental urge took over him as he tentatively placed his arm around Teddy's shoulder in a sign of comfort. Teddy tensed immediately and Remus almost moved it, but something _'did parental instinct really kick in that quickly' he wondered _told him to just keep holding him. After a few tense moments, Teddy deflated and relaxed into his hold.

The two men leaned back into the seat Sirius and young Harry had occupied earlier. Remus was making small observations about the young man next to him, memorizing him. Meanwhile, Teddy's thoughts were everywhere. The pain and death of the last few hours, while still fresh in his mind, seemed to ease as he felt the strong arms of his dad hold him. The thought that he should be slightly embarrassed being a grown man did go through his head, the rest of him overrode that thinking with the sheer joy that he finally had a chance to feel what he had dreamed his whole life…what it felt like to be held by his dad.

"Did we know each other at all? Harry called you son…I take it he raised you, meaning at some point in your time line I am killed." Remus was surprisingly calm asking about his own death.

Teddy reluctantly answered, knowing he would find out anyway, "You were killed in battle during the war when I was just a few weeks old. I lost my mom and dad in that battle, and I stayed with my grandma, but Harry was always around. I had a decent inheritance as Harry named me the Black heir, but I would rather…"

"…You would have rather had your parents." Remus finished for him.

"Harry always understood," continued Teddy, "Every family get together where I felt a little out of the action. I felt like I was intruding, an extra. Harry made sure I was involved and called me "son." He had no idea how much that meant to me." Teddy paused, "Well, I bet he did know, as he would always smile when Arthur Weasley referred to him as son."

Teddy kept talking, saying all the things he always wanted to say, about how he would visit his grave on holidays and birthdays, how he would bring his grades each summer and tell him about his year.

"You were the first I told about asking Tori to marry me, even before Harry." Mentioning Tori brought up the painful memory from earlier at St. Mungos and he stopped, starring into nothing while him mind replayed the memory.

"I wish I could have been there for you, son" Remus said, his voice full of sadness, "I know I would have been proud of you every step of the way." Remus began rubbing his son's back, trying to bring him out of the memory he seemed stuck in.

"Listen, it's late. And you have been through a lot tonight. Why don't we grab a vial of dreamless sleep and let you rest. I hope there are going to be quite a few more of these little talks in the coming days, and I want you well rested for them." Remus, again shocked at his own parenting finesse, helped Teddy off the couch and began walking him to an empty room.

He surprised the both of them when he helped Teddy into bed, removing his shoes and tucking him in like he was a small child. Teddy, who after the stress and emotional upheavals of the day could not bring himself to protest in the slightest and just gratefully accepted the attention.

As Remus walked towards the door, he remembered something and turned around. "Teddy, you never mentioned one thing. Who is your mother?"

Teddy, with the bottle of dreamless sleep potion at his mouth, smirked and replied, "You'll figure it out before I have to tell you." With that he drank the potion and immediately fell asleep.

Remus walked into the room labeled with his name and immediately realized he wasn't alone. On the other bed sat Sirius, who was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, as if he was in deep thought. He startled as Remus closed the door.

"Remus, there you are!" Sirius sighed in relief, "I was wondering when you were coming in. Did our, err, visitor get settled alright?"

Remus sighed, "Yes, he's finally asleep." Remus paused as if weighing his next words, but Sirius beat him to it.

"He's your son, isn't he? In the future, I mean. Harry and I figured it out when we were talking a little while ago."

Remus smiled at his friend. He may have spent 12 years in Azkaban, but his mind was getting sharper each day. When he thought back on the actions of his friend after escaping Azkaban, he thought his friend had lost his mind. He made mistakes, juvenile ones, while trying to get into Hogwarts during that year. The Sirius Black he knew, the marauder was sharper than that. He realized that while Sirius kept his sanity, the fog of the dementors still clouded his mind. In the last few months, he was beginning to notice that Sirius was getting through that fog, and he was starting to see the witty and intelligent man he knew growing up.

"Yes, he is my son. Or will be…or was? Oh bugger, I don't understand time travel," Remus commented as he fell onto his own bed. "All I know is I wasn't there for him. I don't know how long he has, but I am going to try to make it up to him."

Remus began laughing at the joy he felt earlier hearing his son wasn't a werewolf, "I can have children, Padfoot, Can you believe it? He doesn't have lycanthropy!"

Sirius smiled for his friend. He hadn't seen Remus smile this genuinely since James and Lily were alive. Seeing his friend smile so happy gave him hope, an impressive accomplishment as he felt nothing but terror since hearing about Harry's near death experience with Voldemort earlier that evening.

"And how is Harry holding up?" Remus continued, "Meeting your future self isn't something you see every day."

Sirius sighed. He knew Harry wasn't alright. He wanted nothing more than to go in there and cuddle up with him (as Padfoot of course) and stay within arm's reach of him from now on. He knew though that most 14 year old boys would not welcome that kind of coddling, so he was holding back.

"He was sore naturally," Sirius began calmly, then his emotions took over as he continued, "Voldemort tortured my godson! Just the thought of that makes me want to take him and run off to Antarctica to get him away from all this. But he is one amazing kid, Remus. He was asking about Cedric's parents tonight, worried about them. He was trying to be strong tonight, but I know he is hurting. It's like he's been lacking love and attention for so long he doesn't know how to accept it now when he needs it most. When I put him to bed tonight, he looked like he didn't know what to do, like he'd never been tucked in before."

Sirius ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "Did you see the other Harry's eyes, Remus? They looked so _old_, like he was twice his age. I don't want our Harry to look like that."

Remus nodded. He noticed the other Harry's eyes earlier as well, and was not comforted by what he saw. He noticed the beginnings of the pain in his son's eyes when he spaced out when Severus asked about the curse.

The two sat in silence considering all they saw and heard this evening. There was just too much to process, too much to consider. What kind of information did this traveler have for them? How did the future expect this group of people to save the world? The thought was almost laughable.

"I am going to try to sleep, Padfoot, and I suggest you do as well. I have a feeling that the surprises are just beginning."

Sirius agreed and they both headed to bed. Before rolling over, Sirius looked at Remus with a knowing smirk, "So did Teddy tell you what lucky bird ended up with our dear Moony?"

Remus shook his head, causing Sirius to laugh a loud bark-like laugh. "I guess you will just have to figure it out. And here I always thought you were the smart one."

"Wait, what? Sirius, what are you going on about?" Remus tried to get his friend's attention but he already turned over to go to sleep. Remus sighed and tried to push the thoughts of what woman would want to be with him out of his mind as he searched for peaceful oblivion.


End file.
